![Colored headshot of Abran Maldonado](/sites/default/files/styles/square_large_default_1x/public/2022-06/Abran%20Maldonado%20_staff.jpg?h=240169af&itok=TYmYgm17)
As the Associate Director of NYC Media Lab & Verizon’s 5G EdTech Program, Abran is instrumental in expanding the program's impact to students and teachers, and scaling solutions to dozens of schools across the nation. He is a tech entrepreneur, scholar, and lifelong advocate for disadvantaged youth. Abran co-founded Create Labs Ventures, a social venture that creates new opportunities for the underserved community to enter tech and media industries. He is a Gates Millennium Scholar, an award given to future community leaders, and holds degrees from St. John’s University, Columbia University’s Teachers College, and reached doctoral candidate status at NYU Steinhardt.